“During our CS4HS workshop we immediately picked up Scratch and used it to introduce students to programming...”

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Shannon Houtrouw

CS4HS participant and computer science teacher for the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center.

GOOGLE COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION

"For me, coding has been a challenge, but Pencil Code allowed me to put my coding skills to the test.”

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Allie Maltzman

Pencil Code participant, class of 2018.

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Challenges

Ms. Hare noticed that female students were dropping out of technology-focused classes. After talking to some of the students, she realized that she might not be able to change their course selection, but she could offer the girls an environment after school where they feel comfortable to collaborate, communicate, and connect with their peers through computer science.

Realizing that CS is more than just sitting in front of a screen, Ms. Hare created Girls in Tech, a 2-hour after school program for middle school girls to work on team building, connect with the community, and use Google CS First to learn the basics of computer programming. Women from the local tech community are invited to discuss their careers and help mentor while the students work on their CS First projects. The majority of girls began with no exposure to computer science and left yearning for more projects and excited to show off their coding skills to peers, friends, family, and community members.

"The tech field can be an intimidating and difficult field for many women and minorities to break into. We are striving to tear down these artificial barriers and get more of our girls excited and engaged with technology through partnerships between schools, the local tech community, and Google CS First.”

Ms. Betsy Hare

CS First participant, Instructional Technology Specialist at Oakbrook Middle School in Ladson, SC.

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Challenges

Before Made With Code, Amaya had very little experience with coding, and didn't understand when and where it was used. Amaya says she's grateful to Girls Inc. and her Made With Code experience, and she feels there are too many girls who have not been given the opportunity to learn code or encouraged to pursue a computer science career.

Amaya saw through Made with Code that girls can work in powerful computer science jobs and achieve equality with men in programming. Amaya also became inspired to teach other girls to code at Girls Inc. Through this experience, Amaya built confidence, learned about her strengths, and discovered her leadership potential.

"Made with Code exposed me to a different kind of environment. An environment where girls were using code to create and design games or movies, and even to help and heal others”

Amaya, age 13

Made with Code participant at Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest (Portland, Oregon)

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Challenges

ELiTE was specifically interested in learning how to better serve girls as emerging leaders in technology. They sought to learn from WAAW Foundation (Working to Advance African Women) and model best practices to engage more girls, specifically in Africa.

ELiTE has been able to apply their learnings from Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria to the US where they now run more inclusive extracurricular programs in schools. While their focus was to create a better working environment for girls, with the changes they have seen higher quality of work from all students.

"The past two years have been an incredible journey and we are grateful for [RISE’s] support and partnership. We've grown as an organization and learned so much—especially this past year through our partnership with Unoma and The WAAW Foundation.”

Chelsey Roebuck

RISE Partner and Executive Director and Co-Founder of ELiTE, NYC

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Challenges

According to a 2015 U.S. Department of Education study, at least 17 states have reported computer science teacher shortages, some back as far as 1990. Supporting the growth of computer science education means developing and retaining high quality teachers who understand the latest practices and pedagogy of computer science education.

CS4HS provides funding to local computer science education experts for the planning and development of CS teacher professional development. CS4HS programs vary from region to region based on the needs of local teachers, but the outcome is the same: teachers increase their confidence in teaching computer science and establish valuable connections with other CS teachers.

"In addition to needing professional development hours each year, I also need to network with my colleagues on latest practices, things going on in AP Computer Science, Robotics opportunities, computer math topics, algorithm development, and computer science competitions for high schoolers. CS4HS provided that for me.”

Shannon Houtrouw

CS4HS participant and computer science teacher for the Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center.

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Challenges

Beaver Country Day School, a small private school in Massachusetts, recognized the growing importance that computer science plays in the world. However, like many schools in the US, they didn’t offer any programming classes, so their students weren’t getting exposure to CS

To address this, in 2013, Beaver Country Day School became the first school in the country to integrate computer science into every one of their classes. From English to Art to Math, they used the Pencil Code tool to build programming into their curricula. Students now engage in a host of activities with Pencil Code, ranging from designing chatbots, to creating visual representations of Macbeth, to solving math equations, and even building an app that tells you how many hours you need to study each night.

"After completing this code I knew more and understood more of the play. It allowed me to interpret Macbeth in a new way that I had never thought of before. I really enjoyed using Pencil Code because it made coding simpler for me and helped me try something new.”

Allie Maltzman

Pencil Code participant, class of 2018.

Computer Science Stories

CS First

“CS First helped us engage our students in learning the basics of computer programming.”

Made With Code

“After my first Made with Code party, I felt powerful and in control. I left feeling really inspired.”

Grounded in Research

We commission studies to gain a deeper understanding of how to increase student awareness and access to computer science. We work to uncover the drivers that motivate students and the barriers that prevent them from pursuing computer science.